Mother, son die in boating accident

Sunday

May 26, 2013 at 12:30 AMMay 26, 2013 at 4:19 PM

A pregnant mother and her son have died after a tragic boating accident on High Rock Lake Saturday afternoon.

By DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

A pregnant mother and her son have died after a tragic boating accident on High Rock Lake on Saturday afternoon. Melissa Chambers Britt, 32, and her son, William Jaiden Britt, 3, both of Oak Ridge, died in the accident according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. off of Hickory Point Road, said Reggie Lookabill, chief of the Davidson County Rescue Squad. Divers searched for about five hours until Melissa Britt's body was found Saturday.The fatal accident involved two boats, one of which was a pontoon boat, and numerous people were on the boats, Lookabill said. Sgt. Tony Sharum of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said four people, including Melissa Britt's husband, William Clayton Britt Jr., 33, of Oak Ridge, and her brother, Micheal Chambers, age unknown, of Stokesdale, were on the pontoon boat. The sergeant said Melissa Britt, who was three months pregnant, fell off the pontoon boat, and her husband, the driver of that boat, was not injured.“It's a devastating loss for his family,” Sharum said.A spokeswoman with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem said Monday that Chambers was listed in serious condition.Davidson County Sheriff David Grice and Sharum said the power boat hit the pontoon boat head-on. Grice said the NCWRC was handling the investigation.Sharum told The Dispatch the accident occurred as the two boats were traveling on Swearing Creek on High Rock Lake. He said the pontoon boat was traveling downstream at a slow speed with three adults and one child aboard. The power boat, he said, was traveling upstream at a speed in excess of 25 mph prior to impact.Sharum identified the driver of the power boat as Micheal Lynn Greene, 52, of McCleansville. He said Greene had three juveniles on his boat, who included his daughter and two of her friends. The occupants of the power boat were not injured.Sharum said the Britts and Chambers were cruising on the lake and had not been on the boat for very long before the incident occurred. The accident, he said, occurred right in front of Britts' lake house.“It was a sad scene,” Sharum said, as he noted children's toys were on the beach as parts of the boat were washing up.The NCWRC had not charged anyone in the accident. Alcohol was not a contributing factor, Sharum said. The NCWRC believes possible operator inattention from Greene was the contributing factor. “It's an open investigation,” Sharum said, adding multiple people witnessed the accident.Sharum said the adults were not wearing life preservers, but it was unclear if the child had on a life jacket. He said the child died as a result of the impact of the power boat striking the pontoon boat and was not ejected into the water.The family dog, who was also on the boat, has been found alive, Sharum said.Sharum said one of the NCWRC's reconstruction experts would review the accident. The sergeant is expected to meet with the Davidson County District Attorney's Office sometime after Tuesday to present all information regarding the accident.About 75 people took part in the rescue efforts. Agencies involved were the Davidson County Rescue Squad, Davidson County EMS, the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the Thomasville Rescue Squad, the Fair Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Healing Springs Fire and Rescue, the Rowan County Rescue Squad and the Southmont Volunteer Fire Department.Lookabill said a resident on the lake allowed the agencies to use sonar on his boat to help locate the woman. A cadaver dog from the Thomasville Rescue Squad and sonar from a Rowan County Rescue Squad boat were also essential in locating her, the chief said.The deaths came two days after the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and other agencies held a press conference concerning boating safety on High Rock Lake.Lookabill said Saturday's double-fatality on the lake was tough on everybody involved.“We (the emergency responders) spent our Saturday down there but we realize what this family has lost,” he said.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 217 or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.

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